Hand-threading loom-shuttle.



H. L. LITGHPIELD.

HAND THREADING LOOM SHUTTLE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 30, 1909.

Patented Dec. 13,1910.

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and the means for controlling the thread afjusted manually to vary thetension on the HERBERT L. LITGI-IFIELD, OF SOUTHBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

HAND-THREADING LOOM-SHUTTLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 13, 1910.

Application filed December 30, 1909. Serial No. 535,640.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT L. LITCH- FIELD, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of Southbridge, county of W'orcester, State ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Hand-Threading Loom-Shuttles, of which the following description, in connection with theaccompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawingrepresenting like vparts.

This invention has for its object the production of a novel, simple andefficient loom shuttle so constructed and arranged that the thread ofhlling is guided or directed by the hand of the weaver to thedelivery-eye of the shuttle, my present invention relating especially tothe means for governing and directing the thread in the threadingoperation,

ter the shuttle has been threaded.

In the present embodiment of my invention the thread is led from theusual bobbinrecess through a longitudinal thread-passage and around athread-guide through the delivery-eye at the side of the shuttle Thisthread-guide is peculiarly constructed, so that it not only performs thefunction of a guide, but it also acts as a retainer to hold the threadin the passage and prevent its escape therefrom, and it also serves as aten sion device, being mounted in the shuttle in such manner that it canbe readily adthread without interfering in any way with itsthread-guiding and retainingfunctions.

I have also provided a novel and highly efficient thread-controller,which is mounted on the shuttle-body at the outer end of the eye, tofacilitate the entrance of the thread thereinto in the threadingoperation and thereafter to prevent any accidental escape of the threadfrom theeye to unthread the shuttle.

The construction as a whole is simple, and the construction is such thatthe manufacture and assemblage of the various parts is low in cost andof easy accomplishment.

The various novel features of my invention Will be fully describedhereinafter and particularly pointed out in the following claims.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the thread delivering or forward end of ashuttle with one embodiment of my invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is afront side elevation thereof, showing the thread-controller at the outerend of the delivery-eye, the threadguiding, retaining and tension devicebeing indicated by dotted lines; Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken onthe line 3-3, Fig. 1, looking toward the left; Fig. 4 is a view similarto Fig. 2, but with the thread-controller removed; Fig. 5 is an enlargedView of the controller, detached; Fig. 6 1s a lefthand elevationthereof; Fig. 7 is a detached view in elevation of the thread-guide andretainer.

I have herein shown my invention as applied to a shuttle of usual form,the body A having a recess B for the cop or bobbin C, Fig. 1, and hereinthe body is shown as having a cylindrical recess or well 1 forward ofthe recess B and separated therefrom by a transverse wall 2, throughwhich passes a tubular thread-passage 3, leading from the bobbin-recesssubstantially in alincment with the tip of the bobbin, the recess 1being formed by boring into the shuttle-body from its top. Thethread-passage 3 opens into such recess, and the wall 2 has an inletslot4 made by a saw out, said slot leading from the top of the body Adownward and inclining frontward until it intersects the passage 3 atthe upper part thereof and back of its center, as shown 111 Fig. 3.

The side of the shuttle-body at which the thread is delivered isconsidered the front of the shuttle, for the purposes of this invcntion, hence it will be seen that the inletslot- 4 extendslongitudinally of the shuttle but it is inclined in a downward andfrontward direction.

A delivery-eye 5 leads from the front side of the shuttle into therecess 1, substantially at right angles to the threadpassage 3, and atthe forward end of this passage I provide an upright post or guidearound which the thread draws as its direction of movement is changed.I11 the present embodiment of my invention the guide is preferably madeas a post or stud having a cylindrical body 6, Fig. 7, externallyscrew-threaded at 7 at or near its lower end, and provided with a nick8.

Above the threaded portion 7 the body is diagonally slotted at 9, in aplane intersecting its longitudinal axis and inclined thereto, such slotbeing easily made as a sawcut, the open lower end of the slot beingindicated at 10, the upper end of the slot being closed and within thebody, as will be manifest. This slot receives the thread as it passesthrough the passage 3, as will passage,

be explained, and it forms at the upper part of the body a downturnedhook 11, the point of which is at the lower, open end of the slot, theinner face of the hook being fiatand inclined, while its outer face iscylindrical and coincides with the exterior of the body 6, as will bemanifest.

An upright hole 12, see dotted lines Figs. 2 and 3, is bored into theshuttle-body ex tending from its bottom upward into the wall 2 at theforward end of the threadand into the hole 12 the threadguide isscrewed, until its upper part extends into the passage, as shown in Fig.3, with the thread-slot 9 diagonally crossing the passage oppositely tothe inlet-slot 4. The open end 10 of the thread-slot 9 is at a distancebelow the bottom of the inlet-slot, and also below and back of thecenter of the thread-passage, Fig. 3, while the upper end of thethread-slot is at or near the top of the passage 3 and substantiallyabove the center thereof.

In the threading operation the weaver takes the thread of fillingleading from the bobbin C and with a forward movement of the hand drawsthe thread into the inletslot 4, the pull on the thread drawing it downsuch slot into the passage 3, and around the convex face of the hook 11as the thread enters the delivery-eye, the motion of the thread carryingit under the point of the hook and up into the threadingslot 9. Thethread is new permanently con fined in the passage 3, and cannot escapetherefrom, for it is drawn along it has a constant tendency to slideupward over the inclined bottom of the thread-slot 9 toward the closedupper end thereof, and the greater part of the length of the hook 11 isinterposed between the open end 10 of the thread-slot and the bottom ofthe inlet-slot 4.

Should a loop of thread be thrown forward off the tip of the bobbin andinto the open top of the inlet-slot thethread cannot escape from thecontrol of the hook. This thread-retaining function of the guide or post6 is very important, as it insures the retention of the thread in thepassage 3 after it has once entered thereinto.

As the thread -traverses the lower face of the slot 9 a drag or tensionis exerted, and it will be at its minimum when the least deflection ofthe thread occurs as it traverses the thread-slot.

By turning the body 6 in the hole 12, which is easily done by engagingthe nick 8 with a screw-driver, the thread-slot can be changed angularlywith relation to the thread-passage 3, so as to increase the defiectionof the'thread and thereby increase the tension exerted thereupon. Suchangular adjustment of the thread-guide does not, however, interfere withthe guiding function thereof nor with its function as a thread-retainer.

The delivery-eye 5 has a slot 13, Fig. 4, in its forward wall, where thelateral. sawcut 14 of the threading-slot intersects it, said out 14extending inward from the front side of the shuttle-body into the recess1 and meeting the upright saw-cut 15 which is cut downward from the topof the body A in a diagonal direction from recess 1 forward andfrontward to the front side of the shuttle, see Figs. 1, 2 and 4. Theintersecting cuts 14, 15 1 term the threading-slot, as in the operationof threading the shuttle the weaver draws the thread forward from theinlet-slot 4 across recess 1 into the part 15 and then downward aroundthe shoulder 16 into the part 14, a backward pull on the thread carryingit along the saw-cut 14 into the eye 5 through its slot 13, as will bereadily understood.

In order to prevent the thread from escaping from the eye after it hasbeen directed thereinto by the threading-slot 14, 15 I have. provided anovel and effective thread-controller, preferably made of rather thinplat-e metal, and seated in a socket 17, the shuttle-body at the outerend of the eye. The thread-controller, shown separately in Figs. 5 and6,comprises a flat,elongated body or shank 1S, and a substantiallycircular and enlarged forward end or head 19 centrally apertured at 20,the head being split to form a downturned and curved beak 21 terminatingin a tip 22 turned toward the shank, and a forwardly extended heel 23laterally offset from the beak at one side thereof, see Fig. 6, to leavea clearance 24 between the adjacent faces of the heel and beak, suchclearance serving as a thread-inlet into the aperture 20. As shown inFigs. 2 and 5 the upper edge of the heel is raised above the tip of thebeak, the heel. thus overlapping the tip and the adjacent part of thebeak, said upper edge being extended forward and downcurved at 25 beyondthe downturned outer edge 26 of the beak, said crossed edges presentinga substantially V-shaped mouth or entrance turned toward the part 14 ofthe threading-slot. Referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the edge 26crosses the saw-cut 14 and the adjacent portion of the beak extendsbelow it, while the tip 22 is turned away from the saw-cut, so that whenthe thread leaves the latter it is carried clownward around the edge 26of the beak and up off its tip, while at the same time it travels upover the edge 25 of the heel, passing through the clearance 24 into thedeliveryeye 5 and the aperture 20 at its outer end. After the thread isshed off the tip of the beak and is fully threaded into the deliveryeyeit cannot escape therefrom, for the upper the heel supports andmaintains the elevated above the tip as it draws i j edge of 1 threadFig. 4, in

through the eye 5 and aperture 20 to be delivered, and so long as thethread cannot pass under the tip it cannot escape. The pointof the heelengages the shuttle-wood below the bottom of the saw-cut or slot .14,thereby obviating any chance of the thread being caught or pinched, andthe downturned edge 26 of the beak depresses the thread away from thetop of said slot. A slight prong 27 on the forward edge of the beakpushes into the shuttle-wood at the forward end of the socket 17, tofirmly position the beak, whilethe thread-controller as a whole issecurely held seated in the socket by suitable screws 28.

In Fig. l the shuttle is shown as completely threaded, the fillingthread It being shown as lying in the passage 3 and threadslot 9, andtraversing the delivery-eye 5 and the aperture 20 of the controller atthe outer end thereof. I

The preparation of the shuttle for the thread-controller and guide andretainer is effected by appropriate saw-cuts and herings, making suchpreparation simple and cheap, while the combined guide and re tainer,see Fig. 7, can be produced very quickly. The thread-controller, Fig. isconveniently stamped or died out from plat-c metal, and the heel andbeak are offset and caused to overlap by suitable dies.

By the construction herein described the threading operation is greatlyfacilitated, practically only two movements of the hand being requiredto insert the thread into the delivery-eye, the means for acting uponand controlling the thread cooperating therewith promptly andpositively.

Changes or modifications in various details of construction may be madeby those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scopeof my invention as set forth in the claims annexed hereto.

Having fully described my invention, What I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. A loom shuttle having a bobbin-receivingrecess and a slotted delivery-eye, and a threading slot to direct thethread from the said recess into the slotted eye, combined With a flatand down curved metal beak seated in the shuttle-body at the outer endof the eye and crossing the slot thereof at its junction with thethreading slot, the beak having a tip turned backward from the slot, thebeak having at its outer side a laterally otl'set heel extended forwardbeyond and above the tip, to maintain the thread above the tip when itdraws through the eye to be delivered, the thread passing from thethreading slot directly into the eye under the tip of the beak andbetween the adjacent faces of the beak and heel.

2. A loom shuttle having a bobbin-receiving recess and a slotteddelivery-eye, and a threading slot to direct the thread from the saidrecess into the slotted eye, the shuttlebody having a socket in itsfront wall at the outer end of the eye, combined with atln-ead-controller seated in the socket and having a flat beak and anoverlapping, laterally separated heel, said beak being curved forwardand downward and crossing the slot of the eye at its outer end andhaving its tip turned away from the threading slot, the upper edge ofthe heel crossing the beak at its outer side above the tip to form asupport for the thread above the tip of the beak as the thread isdelivered through the eye.

3. A loom shuttle having a bobbin-receiving recess and a slotteddelivery-eye, and a threading slot to direct the thread from the saidrecess into the slotted eye, the shuttle body having a socket at theouter end of the eye, combined with a thread-controller made of platemetal and seated in the socket and having a beak and an overlapping,laterally separated heel, said beak being curved forward and downwardand crossing the slot of the eye at its outer end and having its tipturned away from the threading slot, the upper edge of the heel crossingthe beak at its outer side above the tip to form a support for thethread as it is delivered through the eye, the outer edge of the beakcrossing the threading slot and leaving a clearance between such edgeand the shuttlebody adjacent the slot, to permit the ready passage ofthe thread from the slot around and under the outer edge of the beakdirectly into the delivery-eye, the upper edge of the heel at itsforward extremity engaging the shuttle-body at a point below the bottomof the threading slot.

4. A loom shuttle having a bobbin-receiving recess and a slotted sidedelivery-eye, and a threading slot intersecting the eye, to direct thethread thereto from said recess, combined with a thread-controllerconsisting of a Hat plate having an elongated body fixedly seated in theside of the shuttle-body and provided with an enlarged, substantiallycircular, slitted head at the outer end of the eye, the slitted headpresenting a downcurved and rearwardly turned beak and a frontwardlyextended heel overlapping the tip of the beak and laterally separatedtherefrom, the substantially straight upper edge of the heel risingabove the tip of the beak to support the thread after it has passedthrough the head of the thread cont-roller into the eye and extendingforward beyond the outer edge of the beak.

5. A hand-threading shuttle having a bobbin-recess and a sidedelivery-eye, a longitudinal, tubular thread-passage intermediate saidrecess and eye, an open inlet-slot in the shuttle-body leading into theupper part of said passage from the top of the shuttle-body anddownwardly inclined toward the eye side of the body, and an uprightthread guide intersecting and extended into the passage and having adownturned retaining hook the pointof which is below and back of thecenter of the passage and at a distance below the low'er end of theinlet-slot, the 2 thread being drawn down through the inletslot into thethread-passage over the hook and underneath its point and then upwardbeneath the hook in the threading operation, whereby the thread isoverhung and retained by the downturned hook in the thread-passage as itdraws around the guide and passes to the delivery eye.

6. A hand-threading shuttle having a bobbin-recess and a sidedelivery-eye, a tubular, longitudinal thread-passage intermediate saidrecess and eye, an open inlet-slot in the shuttle-body leading into theupper part of such passage from the top of the body and inclineddownwardly and toward the eye side of the body, and an uprightguide-post extended into and across said thread-passage and providedwith a diagonal threadslot open only at its lower end to receive thethread, said slot being inclined from its closed upper end downwardlyand away from the eye side of the shuttle-body, the open end of thethread-slot being below and at a distance from the junction of theinletslot with the tubular thread-passage.

7. A hand-threading shuttle having a bobbin-recess, and a sidedelivery-eye, a tubular, longitudinal thread passage intermediate saidrecess and eye, an open inlet-slot in the shuttle-body leading into theupper part of such passage from the top of the body and inclineddownwardly and toward the eye side of the body, and an upright,rotatably adjustable thread-guide extended into and crossing thethread-passage at the forward end thereof, said guide having adiagonally located, straight thread-slot open only at its lower end andinclined downwardly and oppositely to the inlet-slot, adjustment of theguide varying the tension on the thread as it draws through thethread-slot on its way to the delivery-eye, the closed upper end of thesaid slot retaining the thread therein at or near the upper part of thetubular threadpassage.

8. A hand-threading shuttle having a longitudinal, tubularthread-passage leading from the bobbin-recess, a frontwardly anddownwardly inclined inlet-slot in the shuttle-body leading into saidpassage, and an upright, manually rotatable post in the forward end ofthe passage, having a threadslot closed at its upper end and inclinedoppositely to the inlet-slot and open at its lower end, the closed upperend of the thread-slot being located centrally near the top of saidpassage and its open lower end being at. one side of the passage and ata distance below the intersection of the bottom of the inlet-slot withthe thread-passage, the post serving as a guide around which the threaddraw's while the slotted portion of said post retains the thread in thepassage and regulates the tension thereon according to the angularposition of the post.

9. A hand-threading shuttle having a bobbin-recess and an'open side-eye,a thread passage intermediate the bobbin-recess and the inner end of theeye, said passage having an inlet at its top, an upright,angularly-adjustable thread-guide extended into the passage and providedwith an upwardly eX- tended diagonal slot closed at its upper end andopen at its lower end at the surface of the guide, to receive the threadand prevent its escape from the passage, and a threadcontroller at theouter end of the eye, comprising a curved beak and a heel offset fromand overlapping the tip of the beak, the upper edge of the heel beinghigher than the tip of the beak, to support the thread above said tipand thereby prevent escape of the thread from the eye.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HERBERT L. LITCHFIELD.

\Vitnesses lVILLIAM P. PLIMPTON, SAMUEL S. SILVA.

